Hawks Nest State Park: Cliffside Trail (Blog Hike #117)

Trail: Cliffside Trail

Hike Location: Hawks Nest State Park

Geographic Location: west side of Ansted, WV (38.12055, -81.11834)

Length: 1.9 miles

Difficulty: 8/10 (Moderate/Difficult)

Dates Hiked: June 2002, June 2014

Overview: A rocky cliffside journey to a spectacular overlook of New River Gorge.

Park Information: https://wvstateparks.com/park/hawks-nest-state-park/
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=717894
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: From Ansted, go west on US 60 to the entrance to Hawks Nest State Park.  Turn left to enter the park.  Park in the first parking lot on the right, a large, asphalt lot.

The hike: Located at the mouth of the famous New River gorge, the views from Hawks Nest have attracted visitors for many years.  Among the first famous visitor was Chief Justice John Marshall in the early 1800’s, who thought that the views from present-day Hawks Nest were equal to any in Virginia.  In the early 1900’s, coal mining and lumbering were key industries in and around the gorge.  The railroads that serviced them can still be seen in the gorge today.  In 1968, the state park lodge that sits on the gorge rim was built, and in 2002 the state park golf course was upgraded to improve quality of play.

The lodge is surrounded by 4.5 miles of hiking trails, some easy and some steep and rocky.  The most difficult trail is the Canyon Trail which descends a seemingly endless set of steps from the lodge to the river.  That trail is maintained by the Governor’s Summer Youth Program, a state-sponsored program that helps build and maintain the trails in West Virginia’s state parks. 

The hike described here leads below the sheer sandstone cliffs of the gorge and ends up at one of the overlooks that made Hawks Nest famous.  The trail is unblazed but always easy to follow.  The best time to hike this trail is probably the winter when leaves are off the trees, thus expanding your views of the river and Turkey Creek Waterfall.  However, this trail would be very dangerous during icy or even rainy conditions.

Trailhead: Cliffside Trail

            From the parking lot, walk west to a picnic shelter located on the gorge side of the park road.  The trail enters the forest behind this shelter.  A sign warns: “Children must be accompanied by an adult.”  This warning should be heeded, as the trail contains some unprotected sheer bluffs and extremely rocky sections.

The trail immediately begins descending steeply down a pair of switchbacks to the first unprotected overlook.  Look for the railroad bridge located to the left and observe the sandstone cliffs across the river.  The trail continues descending on more switchbacks and some wooden steps to finally reach the base of the cliff on the right.  A large rock shelter can be seen on the right here.

Cliffside Trail

            For the next 0.6 miles the trail traverses an up and down course, clinging to the hillside on the right and a steep drop-off to the left.  Poison ivy is very common along this trail, and watch your steps when climbing over the talus at the base of the cliff.  Hawks Nest Dam comes into sight in the river on the left.  This dam was built specifically for generating hydro-electric power.  Notice a tunnel going into the mountain to the right of the dam.  This opening is the beginning of a four mile tunnel that carries water through Gauley Mountain to a power generation station 4 miles away.

The trail curves right, keeping to the curvature of the cliff, and soon leaves the New River behind.  The steep ravine on the left is that of Turkey Creek and it contains some very nice waterfalls and cascades.  Be warned, though, that except during the leafless time of year as mentioned above, a thick cluster of rhododendron will greatly obstruct your view.  The cliffs on the right have also disappeared, replaced by a steep hillside.

The trail begins gaining elevation moderately at first, then more steeply as the trail curves right away from Turkey Creek.  A couple of windfalls make the hiking more difficult here, and the thick rhododendron and steep hillside make going around nearly impossible.  Just before reaching US 60, the trail turns sharply right and continues a steep climb, now through a small grove of pines.  The traffic from US 60 can be heard on the left.

View upstream from Hawks Nest Overlook

View across river-Hawks Nest Overlook

            One final steep climb and you arrive at the parking lot along US 60 for the overlook.  Take a short trip right on the blacktop trail to arrive at the famous overlook, from which you can see all of the items along the hike in one view.  Back at the parking lot, cross US 60 and browse the park gift shop.  Follow the paved path behind the shop, following signs up some steps for the museum.  The museum features a collection of artifacts and exhibits relating to the gorge that was donated to the park in 1938 by Judge Harland Calhoun of Moorefield, WV.

            Exit the museum and go around the assistant superintendent’s residence to arrive at a blacktop access road.  Follow this road downhill to its intersection with US 60.  Arriving at the parking lot, located across US 60 and to the left, completes the hike.